James Frederick Webb Simpson has a ring to it…for a barrister. Webb Simpson will do for a professional golfer. The latter completed an unexpected comeback from long-game misery and won the RBC Heritage by one stroke over Abraham Ancer.
Unlike last week, when I successfully picked Daniel Berger to emerge from the shadows, I was dead wrong about Simpson. You’d think a fellow Wake Forest alumnus would have had more faith in the 2012 U.S. Open champion. Alas, I didn’t. He wasn’t trending in any of the proper categories, while two handfuls of competitors were seemingly moving past him.
Actually, most of my predictions either fell apart or were picked apart. According to some, Ancer bears no resemblance to Gael García Bernal (I still see it), and Sergio García didn’t do anything bizarre—unless you count three consecutive 65s as bizarre. Maybe I meant to write Sergio García Bernal or something. Who knows?
On to the golf. Before he reached the first tee, Simpson knew that a low score would be needed. Dylan Fritelli (62) and Justin Thomas (63) had reached 17-under par, two better than the overnight leaders. Webb had led after 36 holes but slipped a few notches after Saturday struggles. In the final pairing, Tyrrell Hatton was after his second victory of the campaign, having claimed the Arnold Palmer Invitational in pre-quarantine March. Hatton went out in minus-four but lost the magic coming home. His one-under inward nine was enough to claim a tie for third with Daniel Berger. Both finished two behind the champion.
Second place went to Ancer. Playing as he did last winter, when he led the ROTW team to a near-upset of the USA at the Presidents Cup, Ancer was away in minus-four. Like Hatton, he was unable to maintain the pace coming home. His 65 on the day catapulted him ahead of all but one, to 21-deep, tying his career-best finish on tour. Ancer had birdie putts on every green coming home, including a trio of 15-foot putts that would not fall. He had his chances, but the flatstick was ultimately the differential.
Simpson turned for home at two-under on the day, 17-below for the week. That position would have earned him a tie for eighth with six others. Some sort of breaker was flipped, however, and the Demon Deacon converted birdie putts on five of six holes coming home. His run began at the 12th, where a wedge from 125 left him 10 feet for three. Check. At the 13th, he had a similar distance in, missed by a bit to 22 feet, but rolled home another to keep the engine churning. Par at the tricky 14th brought him to the par-five 15th, where he reached the green in two and two-putted for four. Approach shots to 16 and 17 left him inside 20 feet, and both putts fell, as if they had no alternative. With the tournament in his grasp, a mid-iron approach found the home green, and his two putts from 35 feet brought him the title that had eluded him in 2013 when he lost in a playoff at Sea Pines.
A fast-moving storm nearly delayed the conclusion of this event to Monday. Golfers lost 2.5 hours of play time to the disturbance, and certainly there was concern about the remaining daylight. Play resumed at 5:20, and thanks to the proximity to the summer solstice, there was plenty of sunshine left to finish things off. The need to play quickly and make birdies conspired to propel Simpson toward the proper frame of mind—and a second victory in 2020.
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